Lab Evaluation of Integrated Controls for Commercial Buildings

The laboratory evaluation of a commercial, whole-building, integrated control system project aims to achieve whole-building energy and demand reduction, load flexibility, improved occupant comfort, and reductions in control system installation costs by integrating control of multiple building systems via a building automation system (BAS). The proposed project plans to assess the performance of a fully retrofitted University owned building equipped with an off-the-shelf, programmable BAS capable of integrating and controlling a wide-range of addressable subsystems including a networked lighting system, thermostats, window shades, plug-load receptacles, electric water heaters, and operable casement windows. The BAS relies on environmental sensors that monitor indoor illuminance, temperature, carbon dioxide, particulate mass of multiple pollutants, air quality index and relative humidity to make appropriate control decisions for each connected subsystem. The BAS sequence of operations (SOP), which governs the overall building control algorithm, is designed to reduce energy use through real-time environmental monitoring combined with environmentally dependent and forecasted energy management strategies such as occupancy-based setbacks for HVAC systems and HVAC load shifting using nightly precooling enabled by the actuated windows. For this project, the research team will be using an existing building on UC Davis campus called The Barn (home to the Institute for the Environment or IE (or Institute for the Environment). This building is already equipped with an extensive BAS including networked lighting, HVAC, ventilation and shading systems. The evaluation area within the office space consists of 12 private offices and 1 shared work space with a total of 2,000 sqft of floor space. The proposed project will expand the building’s existing BAS control scope to include plug loads and water heating by installing controlled receptacles and an addressable, electric water heater. These additions aligns with California’s electrification goals and recent updates to the state’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards requirements.